There are many types of golf clubs for directing a ball along the course of play. From a physics standpoint, clubs are used to impart a force upon the ball resulting from a transfer of kinetic energy from the club to the ball. The kinetic energy developed in the club results from a user standing upright, raising the club above the shoulder and swinging downward toward the ball, resting upon the ground or a tee. The amount of kinetic energy required is dependent upon the distance the ball must travel, which often varies. To that end, various clubs are available which enable a user to provide the requisite amount of kinetic energy to the ball. However, some distances often pose a significant challenge to certain individuals who might otherwise be capable of participating in golf. Many prior art attempts have been made to overcome this problem by amplifying the kinetic energy supplied by the club.
U.S. Pat. No. 769,939 to Clark discloses a golf club which uses a spring in a club head to add additional energy imparted by the club to a ball. The energy stored in the compressed spring is released by impact with the ball. In this manner, the ball travels further than the ball would otherwise travel if a conventional club is used. The practical success of this concept is limited since the peak energy release of the spring and contact with the ball must occur simultaneously, or precisely in phase, to achieve optimum results. Additionally, this design makes the club heavier, thereby increasing the difficulty of striking the ball accurately on the club's "sweet spot", which is more important than additional force in obtaining more distance.
French Pat. No. 1,181,539 to Celestin discloses a golf club which uses an explosive charge in a club head to add additional energy to the swing of the club. The club disclosed by Celestin is swung against the ball. The impact causes a piston having an attached firing pin to contact an explosive charge in the head of the club. The charge causes the piston to move outwardly toward the ball, impelling the ball away from the club. Again, the practical success of this concept is limited since the peak energy release of the explosive charge and contact with the ball must occur simultaneously, or precisely in phase, to achieve optimum results. Additionally, the "sweet spot" on the Celestin club is difficult to strike because the striking surface of the club is small and convex. Therefore, the accuracy of the club is likely to be very poor.
A drawback with the aforementioned devices is that each requires the user to swing the club, which results in a substantial amount of twisting motion on the spine. While such a motion is typically not difficult for a person in average health, or better, others may find the motion difficult, if not, debilitating.
A prior art attempt to impart kinetic energy upon a ball without swinging is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,594 to Taylor et al., which discloses a ballistic impeller golf club. The Taylor invention includes a golf club having a hollow head with a front face. An explosive charge is disposed in the hollow head. A strike plate is integrally formed with a piston. The front face includes an aperture through which the piston is received so that the strike plate rests against the front race face in a retracted position. One end of a handle is attached to the club head, with the remaining end having a trigger mechanism attached thereto. A firing mechanism is disposed within the handle, with the trigger mechanism attached to one end and a firing pin attached to the remaining end. The firing pin is operably connected to the explosive charge. The charge is in fluid communication with the piston. Upon pulling the trigger mechanism, the firing pin strikes the charge, causing gases to expand within the head, pushing the piston outwardly. The kinetic energy of the expanding gas is imparted upon a ball resting in front of the strike plate. A retractor spring is connected to the piston to retract the same after the gases have exhausted from the head. While the Taylor invention greatly reduces the need to subject the spine to twisting motions while playing golf, it is cumbersome to re-load the golf club for successive discharge of explosive charges.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that facilitates re-loading of a ballistic impeller golf club.